What did Mr. Darcy think when he first saw Elizabeth Bennet? How did Miss Bingley talk her brother out of proposing to Jane Bennet? And how did Lady Catherine de Bourgh find out Mr. Darcy was on the verge of proposing to Elizabeth? Fifteen authors of Austen-inspired fiction answer these questions and more. Here are the scenes Jane Austen never wrote: ones that happened off stage, such as Mr. Collins proposing to Charlotte Lucas, and actual Pride and Prejudice scenes from the point of view of different characters.

Many of you may have purchased P&P – The Scenes Jane Austen Never Wrote. It was a huge success raising over $9,000 for The Jane Austen House Museum.

If you didn’t get a copy, the bad news is it’s now out of print. Don’t despair, though! P&P – Behind the Scenes is the updated version, including scenes contributed by some of the authors more recently added at Austen Variations. In fact, 50% of the book is brand new material! So even if you already own the old edition, there are tons of fresh, exciting scenes for you too.

PRIDE & PREJUDICE – BEHIND THE SCENES is not a complete novel in and of itself. It is a collection of scenes written independently and designed to complement the original. The reader can start at the beginning or dip into any scene they choose.

The Darcy Brothers is a collaborative effort with four other writers – Abigail Reynolds, Cassandra Grafton, Monica Fairview, and Maria Grace. In this story, we have created a brother for Mr. Darcy. His name is Theo and he couldn’t be more different from his brother.

In fact, Theo Darcy is everything his disapproving elder brother, Fitzwilliam, is not—charming, easy-going, and full of fun. A tragic event as children severed their bond of friendship, but now they are together again. They are still at odds, though, this time over the love of Miss Elizabeth Bennet and the truth about George Wickham. Will Wickham manage to divide the brothers again? And more importantly, which Mr. Darcy will Elizabeth choose? Find out as the two brothers lock horns in this unique Pride & Prejudice variation collectively written by five respected authors. The Darcy Brothers was first conceived as an interactive group writing project and has developed into a full-length novel featuring the charismatic Theo Darcy. A sweet Regency romance for all lovers of Pride and Prejudice.

Please join me at my new home – Austen Variations! The focus of this new group blog will be on group and special writing projects. We’ll also have excerpts from Works in Progress, free fiction from participating authors, and more opportunities for interaction between readers and authors. The Reader’s Choice story I’ve been participating in, The Darcy Brothers, has moved there, too.

This spring we’ll be starting the Persuasion200 Project which is a retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion in real time. What does that mean? If the story was “real” it would have begun 200 years ago this spring. We’ll be adding all the scenes Austen never wrote following the timing of the original story. If you join us, you’ll read scenes from before the story began such as Anne and the Captain’s first courtship and naval scenes from Wentworth’s career, scenes that were omitted, and existing scenes from different points of view. Plus we’ll have historical background of the times.

It’s here! The P&P200 Project has been published as a book. It’s in ebook format and also print.

This is not a novel. It is a unique collection of the back stories of Pride and Prejudice. What was Darcy thinking when Elizabeth and Jane left Netherfield? What was it like at Longbourn as the sisters prepared for the Netherfield ball? Did Jane forget Mr. Bingley when he didn’t return?

On Sale January 8th to 11th!

For the answers to these questions and much more, get your copy today. It’s on sale for just $0.99 from January 8th to the 11th. That’s a bargain. The book is over 700 pages long. It’s designed so you can read cover to cover or just the chapters that interest you. Mr. Darcy’s Proposal is also part of this special sale along with books!

While I’m toiling away on completing the book, I wanted to share the new cover of Please, Mr. Darcy with you. It’s so beautiful! The story of how I found this photo is quite interesting in itself. I had wanted to use another old portrait from the Regency period but couldn’t find just the right one. So many have already been used by other authors! I used Bing to search for something like “Regency dresses” and was directed to Flickr where I found a page called Hathaways of Haworth. Further digging revealed that the photos were of costumes designed by Lyn-Marie Cunliff who also has a storefront on Etsy called Abigail’s Ateliers.

The photos on Flickr show amazing costumes from many different historical periods including what I was looking for – Regency. I found several possibilities and contacted Lyn to explore obtaining permission to use one of these on my cover. I was thrilled when she said I could do that as long as I gave credit in the book – which of course, I am very happy to do!

Next, I sent several of the possible photos to Leslie Newman, a designer I’ve known for years and who did my first book cover (which I’m still in love with). The result is this lovely unique cover that is so different from my first book. It looks fresh and inviting and I’ve received so much positive feedback on it!

This story is full of humorous misunderstandings many of which are related to Caroline Bingley’s attempts to sabotage any relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy so that she can secure him for herself. It’s been lots of fun to write because we all love to hate Caroline. Georgiana also plays a significant role as she tries to play matchmaker and bring her brother and Elizabeth together.

Austen Variations have started a new Reader’s Choice story called “The Darcy Brothers.” What if Fitzwilliam Darcy had a younger brother? It’s an interesting idea that we’re going to explore with some help from our readers. At the end of each chapter, readers will have the opportunity to vote for one of several possible directions for the story. Sound like fun?

His name is Theophilus Darcy or Theo. He’s a younger son and not at all like his brother Fitzwilliam. In fact, he sometimes refers to his older brother as Prince William or simply His Highness. You can see he has a sense of humor!

This time we’re also using other social media. Theo has his own blog where his correspondence is posted. You can sign up to “follow” Theo’s blog so you’ll receive an email every time a new letter is posted. You can also make comments and ask questions. Several of the authors involved in the project will be writing Theo’s letters and responding to comments left by readers.

The first letter was to his dear friend, Sir Montgomery Preston. Theo also writes regularly to his little sister, Georgiana so you’ll see letters to her on the blog, too. Theo has his own twitter account (@Theo_Darcy) if you would care to follow him. Other characters in the story will also have twitter accounts and will be tweeting from time to time.

The first Reader’s Choice story which began earlier this year and ended in September was a great success not to mention lots of fun. The story took some unexpected twists and turns thanks to our readers! Please join us and follow the exploits of Theo Darcy. Here’s a link to the first chapter.